Month: July 2013

The Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has accused the NDC administration of running Ghana’s energy sector into the ground, a development, it claims, has endangered key sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

At a news conference on Monday, Minority Spokesperson on Energy, K.T. Hammond said: “The energy sector is so riddled with corruption, inefficiency, indecision, self-interest and misguided and inappropriate policies that it has become a drag on the economic transformation of the country.”

He went on, “It is obvious that under the NDC Government, the Energy sector of Ghana has clearly become unfit for purpose and in need of a massive outbreak of sanity.”

To justify his comments, he cited what he called the “collapse” of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), the prevailing power crisis in the country and the crippling financial problems at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to back the Minority’s view that the energy sector has descended into an abyss.

The Adansi Asokwa NPP MP’s uncharitable comments about the state of Ghana’s energy sector come weeks after the World Bank of Office in Ghana released a damning report that slammed the government over its handling of key institutions of the sector.

Drawing inspiration from the World Bank’s view on the state of the Energy sector, K.T. Hammond said the “crisis” in the energy sector “is internally generated and is as a result of bad policies and indecisions of this government”.

He added: “The World Bank has recently reported that the economic damage inflicted by the current power shortfall is considerable. It blames the crisis on the Government’s policies and indecisions which have delayed investment in generation and which is the root cause of the current power shortage.

“And only a few days ago, Jonathan Bloom, the Vice President of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation stated bluntly, that a number of US firms prepared to invest in Ghana are holding back due to unreliable power supply.”

K.T Hammond also accused the government of mismanaging proceeds from the nation’s infant crude oil subsector and lampooned the Vice President, Kwesi Amissah Arthur, for poorly investing Ghana’s revenue from the Jubilee Oil fields in financial markets outside the country.

He said, “In the management of our oil revenue, even the nation’s central bank has not been helpful to the public.

In 2012, of the monies that the bank was asked to invest from the Heritage and Stabilisation Accounts, the bank only managed to make a paltry US$4,679 on an investment portfolio of US$54.8 million.

And on an investment of US$14.4 million, interest accruing was US$1,214.68 and yet for their efforts, the bank charged an astonishing US$ 1.74 million and this was all under the watch of the ‘financial guru’ who now heads the Economic Management Team as the Vice President of the republic of Ghana.

We can only pray that there is still time and space to steer ourselves towards the blessing of our oil resource.”

The former Deputy Minister for Energy under the Kufour rule then turned his guns on Dr Oteng Agyei, who served as Minister for Energy throughout the tenure of the Mills-led NDC government.

“…In a reckless display of ministerial authority and in a blatant disregard for the constitution of Ghana, a former Minister of Energy in the NDC Administration, unilaterally and without reference to the Attorney General of the day abrogated a petroleum agreement entered into with AKER SA of Norway and CHEMU GH Limited, which had been ratified by resolution of Parliament as required by the constitution.

“To resolve this matter out of court and of public glare, the NDC government paid out a whopping US$ 33million of Ghana’s oil money to AKER SA to placate it for the obvious illegality perpetuated by this government.”

What is sad, he said, is that “the abrogation was solely because the Ghanaian partner company of AKER appeared to have directors who were of an unacceptable political pedigree in the eyes of the NDC.”

“And what is worse, the block that was taken away from AKER SA/CHEMU GH Ltd remains unexplored and undeveloped. If this is not a clear case of causing financial loss to the country, I do not know what is,” he added.

Citifmonline.com

Member of Parliament for North Tongu in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has paid a glowing tribute to the memory of late president John Evans Atta Mills.

Next week Wednesday July 24, 2013, marks one year of the passing of Prof. Mills, which occurred at the 37 Military Hospital, in Accra.

Presenting a statement on the floor of Parliament on Friday, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa who is also a Deputy Minister of Education, described “Prof. Mills’ reverence for Parliament as exceedingly significant”.

Read the full statement statement read in Parliament by Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa.

PARLIAMENTARY STATEMENT BY HON. SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF HIS EXCELLENCY PROFESSOR JOHN EVANS ATTA MILLS

Mr. Speaker,

I am grateful for the opportunity granted to make this important statement in commemoration of the first anniversary of the shocking and painful loss of our departed beloved former President His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

Next week marks exactly one year when this nation was drowned in tears and grief at the news of the sudden passing of Prof. John Evans Atta Mills that cold Tuesday the 24th of July, 2012. It was the first time in Ghana’s history that a sitting president died in office.

Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, was born on 21 July 1944 at Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana and hailed from Ekumfi Otuam in the Mfantsiman East Constituency of the Central Region.

He began his illustrious academic journey by attending the Huni Valley Methodist Primary School and Komenda Methodist Middle School respectively. He subsequently attended Achimota Secondary School, where he obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level in 1963. He then attended the University of Ghana, Legon, where he received a bachelor’s degree and professional certificate in Law (1967).

A world class scholar; Prof. Mills studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science where he obtained an LLM in 1968. While earning a PhD in Law from the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London, he was selected as a Fulbright scholar at the equally prestigious Stanford Law School in the United States of America. At age 27, he was awarded his PhD after successfully defending his doctoral thesis in the area of taxation and economic development.

His contribution to intellectual development is remarkable having lectured at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana for close to 30 years and authored numerous publications including:
Taxation of Periodical or Deferred Payments arising from the Sale of Fixed Capital (1974)

Exemption of Dividends from Income Taxation: A Critical Appraisal (1977)
Report of the Tax Review Commission, Ghana, parts 1 – 3 (1977)
Ghana’s Income Tax Laws and the Investor (1978)
Ghana’s New Investment Code: An Appraisal (1993)
Prof. Mills was also a visiting professor at Temple Law School (Philadelphia, USA), Leiden University in the Netherlands and at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Prof. Mills’ expertise transcended the lecture room:

He was a member of the Ghana Stock Exchange Council.
In 1988, he became the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana and was named national tax commissioner in September 1993.
He also held examiner positions with finance-related institutions in Ghana, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Bankers, and Ghana Tax Review Commission.

He served on the Board of Trustees of the Mines Trust.
He was a member of the Management Committee of the Commonwealth Administration of Tax Experts, United Nations Ad Hoc Group of Experts in International Cooperation in Tax Matters and United Nations Law and Population Project

He led a study on Equipment Leasing in Ghana.
He chaired the casebook preparation on Ghana’s Income Tax.
He oversaw the Review of Ghana’s Double Tax Agreement with the UK.
Prof. was also a distinguished sportsman and sports administrator: he played Hockey and was a member of Ghana’s National Team and later the Veterans Hockey Team. He also played Football and was a reputable swimmer as well. The Ghana Hockey Association, the National Sports Council of Ghana, and the famous Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club remember him as an administrator par excellence.

On the political scene; Prof. Mills first emerged as running mate to President Rawlings who was seeking re-election for a second term in office. They overwhelmingly won the 1996 election and Prof. Mills became Vice-President of Ghana from 1996 t0 2000.

Between 2001 and 2008, Prof. Mills became the defacto opposition leader and earned an enviable reputation for decent politicking and accepting election results without fomenting trouble. He soon became affectionately known as the Asomdwehene, to wit, King of Peace.

On January 7th 2009, Prof. Mills was sworn in as the third President of the fourth Republic.

He was until his untimely death the presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress for the 2012 presidential election setting a new record in challenged presidential primaries winning by an impressive 96.7%.

Mr. Speaker, We must take pride in ourselves for dropping our partisan robes by collectively and soberly paying our last respect to President John Evans Atta Mills, as well as giving him a befitting and dignified State burial.

This Parliament and indeed all Ghanaians ought to be commended for the smooth transition which has been hailed globally especially as we were in unchartered waters.

As he rests peacefully in the bosom of the Almighty, I have no doubt that he would be thankful to us for the maturity, dignity and peaceful manner by which we managed affairs.

Mr. Speaker, Prof. Mills’ reverence for Parliament was exceedingly significant. He attended to his constitutional obligations to this august house with deep commitment. It is to his legacy that the Job 600 project meant to house MPs was restarted.

He also mooted the idea of constituency offices which was piloted in a few constituencies before his untimely departure. His decision to offer to this house its first female Speaker for consideration in the person of the competent Right Honourable Joyce Bamford Addo has been lauded not only by gender activists across the divide but by all political watchers who are impressed with our former speaker’s contribution to Ghana’s Parliamentary democracy.

Mr. Speaker, Indeed the governance record of Prof. John Evans Atta Mills is unprecedented as he himself once famously remarked. During his relatively short 3 and half year tenure: Ghana’s economy grew by an unprecedented 14.4% in 2011.

Cocoa Production hit an unprecedented 1 million metric tonnes, inflation remained at an unprecedented single digit for the longest period ever under the fourth republic, he extended national electricity coverage from 54% to an unprecedented 72% – touching the lives of Ghanaians in 1,700 communities. Prof. also led Ghana to negotiate its biggest loan package of $3 billion from China – another unprecedented feat.

In other departments, President Atta Mills gave Ghana the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region, and the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The elimination of thousands of schools under trees, the construction of new classroom facilities at various levels of the educational strata, the distribution of over 100,000 laptop computers, the introduction of the Mathematics Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme; are all lasting testimonies to his great efforts at giving more meaning to education.

President Atta Mills re-equipped and re-tooled the security agencies; making it possible for, The Military, The Police, The Fire Service, Immigration, The Prisons Service, CEPS, etc, to have a new lease of life.

In the health sector, the upgrading, and virtual reconstruction of the Tamale Teaching hospital and the establishment of numerous health facilities cannot be forgotten.

His impact on our good governance architecture by commissioning a review of the 1992 Constitution and submitting himself to unfettered questions from journalists once every year in the Castle is worth noting.

Mr. Speaker, Prof. Mills had an unshakable belief in the Ghanaian youth. Having been a lecturer most of his life, and i know many of us here were his students and are his products; Pof. was obviously not in doubt of the capacity and promise of the Ghanaian youth.

He went beyond tokenism and proved that if the Ghanaian youth is given the right support and guidance, we can excel. Prof. deserves all the credit he has been accorded for composing a government made of a useful blend of old and youth. Ghana’s democratic future is all the richer for this.

Mr. Speaker, on the international stage, Prof made all Africans proud. The international community couldn’t resist his democratic credentials and his remarkable wisdom on world affairs. His stature in global diplomacy was to be seen by his ability to rally his peers in ECOWAS and the African Union to pursue common objectives including convincing them to support Ghanaian candidates for various international assignments.

A more permanent evidence of this humble Pan-Africanist’s clout amongst his peers is that well-deserved giant golden statue of his mentor and idol – Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah which now stands at the forecourt of the new African Union Building in Addis Ababa bearing the inscription “Donated by the Government of Ghana and unveiled by H.E. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and Chairperson of the African Union, H.E. John Evans Atta Mills, President of the Republic of Ghana and H.E. Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Addis Ababa, January 28, 2012.”

Mr. Speaker, I take cognisance of the fact that time will not permit me to list all the achievements of the late President Mills; history and time will properly tell the story of this selfless African icon who dedicated his entire life to bettering the lot of all Ghanaians. Already, one is beginning to lose count of the honour being done his memory by the naming of numerous projects and edifices after Prof.

I can immediately recall: the Accra High Street renamed John Evans Atta Mills High Street by an Accra Metropolitan Assembly resolution, a street linking Cape Coast Castle to Mfantsipim Junction renamed President John Atta Mills Street by the Paramount Chief of Cape Coast, Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osaberema Kwesi Arthur, The New Millennium City School at the Salvation Army Cluster of Schools renamed President John Evans Atta Mills Educational Centre of Excellence, An ICT Centre built at Prof. Mills’ alma mater-Huni Valley Methodist Basic School, while the University of Ghana, Legon, recently named its new Faculty of Law building after Prof. Mills and Prof. Akua Kuenyehia.

The Chief Justice and the Judicial Council of Ghana has also named its largest to be court complex after Prof. Mills in acknowledgement of what the Chief Justice described as “a true democrat who respected the independence of the Judiciary and worked to promote it.”

Mr. Speaker, The International Institute of Education (IIE) in New York has posthumously bestowed on Prof. Mills its highest award – The Fritz Redlich Alumni Award in recognition of his distinguished career and exemplary leadership that increased cooperation and understanding between Ghana and the world, and his resolute support for advancing education to prepare an entire generation in Ghana for today’s competitive, globalized economy and to honour him as the first ever Fulbright Scholar to become the Head of State of an African nation by becoming the President of Ghana.

Again Mr. Speaker, Prof. Mills has also been posthumously awarded the highest prize as the 2012 Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize Laureate on Democratic Governance and Development in Africa. According to the Prize Committee, the award was in recognition of his genteel disposition, virtues, devotion and commitment to the enhancement of good Democratic Governance and Development in Ghana and Africa at large.

Mr. Speaker, beyond the physical structures that Prof. left behind and will be remembered for, It is my considered view that perhaps his most enduring legacy would be his exceptional style of tolerance, modesty, sincerity, humility, decency, sacrifice and non-vindictiveness by which he plied his trade of politics.

He was a true statesman and a man who had deep respect for the people he served no matter their views or persuasions. He may go down in history as the most vilified and taunted President both from within and without his own political party and yet he was the one to smile to all, to embrace all, to love all and to bear grudge towards none.

He was a true father for all who imbibed in us a true sense of patriotism. We remember him for his remarkable punctuality and sense of urgency. We will forever miss his presence; his candour; his compassion; and his great sense of humour.

Mr. Speaker, May I finally commend His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama for setting up a commemoration committee chaired by the distinguished former Minister for National Security, Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi. Indeed our heroes and role models ought to be constantly remembered hence I wish to entreat honourable members as we take a deserved break and also all Ghanaians to endeavour to participate in the activities that the committee has publicly outlined.

May the Good Lord continue to grant the soul of our dearly beloved President Mills eternal rest, and may the peace of the Almighty be with his family especially his widow Dr. Ernestina Naadu Mills and son Sam Kofi Mills.

God bless our homeland Ghana and continue to endow us with such great men.

I thank you Mr. Speaker.

MP for Tamale South who doubles as the mnister for Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu has advised budding or aspiring politicians to “accept the values of modesty and humility as an integral part of service to mankind and service to the people.”

According to the Minister, Ghanaians should aim at maintaining a level of decency in their quest to uphold the legacy of the late President John Evans Atta Mills; a man who was the epitome of the attribute.

“As part of our quest to sustain his legacy, we must work to provide some decency even in the media. Like President Mahama said this afternoon (Wednesday), President Mills is an epitome that decency is possible within the annals of multiparty constitutional democratic politics,” he said.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Haruna Iddrisu urged the general public to place the peace, stability and security of the country above all other interests.

“Democracy is not a 100 meter event. Let us build viable and strong institutions which were part of his (Mills’) commitment, let us be tolerant in our politics but above all, at all times, let us be guided by the peace, stability and security of our country and place that above all other interests including individual and petty partisan interests.”

Citifmonline.com

The state has declared its intention to appeal against the discharge and acquittal of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, of any wrongdoing in an allegation of him pitting Ashantis against Gas and Ewes.

Subsequently, the Circuit Court in Accra, which on July 2, 2013 upheld a submission of no case from Mr Ayikoi Otoo, lawyer for the MP, yesterday granted the state permission to pursue its appeal.

A Chief State Attorney, Mr Anthony Rexford Wiredu, had filed an application on behalf of the state praying the court to permit the state to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

In a terse ruling, the presiding judge, Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko, granted the state permission but gave no reasons for the court’s decision.

Mr Agyapong’s case for acquittal

Mr Otoo, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, filed a written submission of no case, which prayed the court to free Mr Agyapong on the grounds that the state had failed to prove two counts of provocation of riot and offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace.

But the state holds a different position and argues that the MP must be made to answer the charges.

Coming under the common law authority in Ghana for making submissions of no case, Mr Otoo held the view that the prosecution had not led any evidence to prove an essential element in the alleged offence to warrant a conviction.

According to counsel, the ingredients to prove the offence of provocation of riot must include five or more persons acting together to commit the riot in a public or private place with the persons executing a common purpose to commit violence without lawful authority.

Applying this principle of the law to Mr Agyapong’s case, counsel submitted that a prosecution witness under cross examination informed the court that Mr Agyapong was in custody when some party activists besieged the police station, engaged in rowdysm, vandalism and demanded his release.

According to counsel, it was clear Mr Agyapong was in custody while five or more persons engaged in riots, adding “it is therefore, submitted that the prosecution has woefully failed to prove that the accused person was part of that magical five or more persons.”

Counsel held that it was abundantly clear that Mr Agyapong was not involved and for that reason the charge of provocation of riot was not applicable to his client at all.

On the count of offensive conduct conducive to the breaches of the peace, Mr Ayikoi submitted that the prosecution should have proven that the accused person was in a public place or at a public meeting before he could be charged with having used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

No offence was committed

The evidence in support of the charge against the accused person was that he phoned into a radio programme and made remarks which in the opinion of the prosecution amounted to the breach of the peace.

Disproving that allegation, Mr Otoo in his written submission held that it was admitted during cross examination that Mr Agyapong made the said phone call from his private residence.

That broadcast, counsel submitted, was of no moment to the commission of any offence since what determined the offence “is the place where the words were uttered.”

Chronology of Events

Mr Agyapong was said to have committed the offence on April 13, 2013 when he called into a radio programme and directed Ashantis to attack Gas and Ewes.

The state on July 6, 2012, dropped first degree felony charges against Mr Agyapong exactly 48 hours after the Supreme Court threw out its request to quash proceedings against the MP, who was standing trial at the Fast Track High Court for allegedly pitting Ashantis against Gas and Ewes.

Initially charged with three counts of treason felony, attempted genocide and engaging in terrorism act for allegedly inciting Ashantis against Ewes and Gas, as well as declaring war, the MP is now faced with two counts of provocation of riot contrary to section 200 and section 196 (1) (a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, (Act 29) and another count of offensive conduct conducive to the breaches of the peace contrary to section 207 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

Court “trotting”

The MP has since April 17, 2012 been trundled between the Adjabeng District Magistrate Court where the magistrate declined jurisdiction; the Human Rights Court which granted him bail; the Fast Track High Court, which was billed to commence his trial and the Supreme Court where the prosecution had prayed it to quash proceedings at the Fast Track High Court.

He was first put before the Circuit Court presided over by Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko on July 19, 2012.

The prosecution called three witnesses.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwapim South, Osei Bonsu Amoah has informed that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) does not have the locus to change the name of the National Hockey Stadium or any other facility.

He claims the fact that the AMA has a lot of facilities under its jurisdiction or municipality does not mean they can go ahead and change its name at any time without consultation.

O.B. Amoah made this remark following a decision by the AMA boss, Alfred Oko Vanderpuiye to rename the “Theodosia Oko National Hockey Stadium” to “John Evans Atta Mills National Hockey Stadium” in honour of the late President and to commemorate his one year passing.

However the decision subsequently snowballed into a national outrage. Many people appeared to be angry with the AMA Boss for taking away the honour given to Madam Theodosia Oko, designer of Ghana’s National Flag who also happens to be alive.

This led to an intervention from the Presidency: the Accra Mayor was asked to rescind his decision.

“That was the same thing they did with the Accra Sports Stadium which was changed to the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium and the authorities kept quiet. They said nothing about it… This time fortunately the presidency is intervening,” O.B. Amoah noted.

Speaking in an interview on Citi FM, O.B. Amoah who was also a former Deputy Minister responsible for Education and Sports in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, opined: “The facility is a state facility and the AMA does not have the power to determine how the facility should be named”.

He said before any decision of that sort can be taken, the National Sports Authority would have to inform the “Ministry of Sports and then the Ministry of Sports will also report to the presidency… change of name is done at the cabinet level and so if the AMA thinks they can just come and change the name then it is very unfortunate but I am glad they have been called to order.”

Peacefmonline.com

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has said, he can only remember late President John Evans Atta Mills for overseeing corruption, load shedding and hypocrisy.

“I can’t remember late President Mills for anything [significant] but I’m sorry I have to say the truth, I can only remember him with corruption and dumsor-dumsor (load shedding) in his administration,” Kennedy Agyapong stated.

Kennedy Agyapong was speaking on Wednesday on Adom FM’s “Burning Issues” program, which was also live on Asempa FM.

He also noted that the late president appointed people like Koku Anyidoho who spewed out vituperations and insults at political opponents, right under the nose of the late president, but he pretended nothing wrong was happening.

The NPP firebrand said it is hypocrisy on the part of Ghanaians to pretend all was well under late President Mills’ government, adding that it is necessary to point out his bad side for others to learn instead of just speaking about him as if he was an angel.

Mr. Agyapong said he was, for instance, very disappointed in the late president and the people around him because they “lied” to Ghanaians about his the health status, which made him under-perform as president.

“I was very disappointed when the late president tried to prove that he was still a healthy sportsman by temporarily turning the Kotoka International Airport into a jogging ground to showcase his “physical fitness” ahead of the 2012 December general elections,” he said.

He is however asking Ghanaians to forgive the late President for under-performing due to his sickness.

The NPP firebrand said the late president’s low-key performance while in office was largely because he was battling with a cancer so “we can forgive him for that.”

In terms of infrastructural development, he said the late president’s contribution could not be compared with what ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor did for Ghana.

He noted that the late president collapsed programs such as NYEP (now GYEEDA), Metro Mass Transit system and many others started by former President Kufuor.

The NPP MP is therefore challenging history writers to chronicle both the good and bad sides of the late president so other people will learn from it.

Myjoyonline.com

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has said, his only memory of late President John Evans Atta Mills is the fact that his tenure saw a lot of corruption, load shedding and hypocrisy.

He said additionally, the late former first gentleman of the land appointed people like Koku Anyidoho who churned out insults at political opponents; however he pretended to have not heard whatever that went on.

The tough talking Kennedy Agyapong was speaking on Wednesday on Adom FM’s “Burning Issues” programme.

He said it is height of hypocrisy on the part of Ghanaians to pretend the country was virtually a paradise under late President Mills’ government, adding that it is essential to emphasize his shortcomings to serve as lessons for others to learn instead of making him look like an angel.

Hon. Ken Agyapong said he felt very bad in the late president and the people around him because they hid his real health status to Ghanaians about which prevented him from performing creditably as president.

He is however asking Ghanaians to forgive the late President for under-performing due to his sickness.
On the issue of infrastructural development, he said the late president did not contribute considerably like what ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor did for Ghana.

Hon. Ken Agyepong noted that under the late president laudable programsmes such as NYEP (now GYEEDA), Metro Mass Transit system which was started by former President Kufuor virtually collapsed as the institutions under performed.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Mr Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Information and Media Relations, on Wednesday described late President John Evans Atta Mills as an exceptional man, whose virtues of integrity and sincerity would forever be remembered.

He said the late President would also be remembered for his staunch desire to make Ghana a better place for Ghanaians to live.

Mr Ayariga made this known during the daily media briefing at the Flagstaff House, Kanda.

The day’s briefing which was dedicated to the life and performance of late President Mills before his demise also dwelled on President Mahama’s recent visit to Congo, Brazzaville.

The Information and Media Relations Minister said the sincerity and honesty of the late President was indisputable and gave the assurance that the current administration would work harder to accomplish most of the development projects and visions he envisioned.

He said government would continue to immortalise the late President by holding a number of programmes to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Mr Ayariga said government would continue his vision of improving the lives of Ghanaians by initiating projects that would enhance the socio-economic development of the country.

On President Mahama’s visit to Congo, Mr Ayariga said apart from meeting Denis Sassou Nguesso, his host, the Head of State also attended the Forbes Afrique Investment Forum.

GNA

Member of Parliament for Odododiodioo, Nii Lante Alfred Oko Vanderpuije has said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has done nothing wrong by renaming the National Hockey Pitch after the late President J.E.A Mills.

According to him, the AMA have all the right and power under the Local Government Act in consultation with traditional authorities to name roads and other infrastructure after certain personalities changes as and when the assembly deems it fit.

The AMA on Tuesday arrived at a decision to rename the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium after late President John Evans Atta Mills who played a prominent role in the development and progress of hockey in the country.

A lot of persons including politicians and social commentators have kicked against the move by the city authorities saying it will be disrespecting and dishonoring the over 90 year older Mrs Theodosia Okoh, who designed the national flag and whom the stadium has already been named after.

The decision to name the hockey facility after Mrs Okoh was taken in 2004 after careful deliberations and consultations by a competent group of people who formed a committee set up by the government.
Her role in the development of Ghana hockey, where she was even nicknamed Joan d’Arc of Ghana hockey, is equally recognizable.

However contributing to a discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on Thursday, Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuije stated that he does not know why the issue has generated a lot of brouhaha as they hockey community itself has not raised any objection to the renaming of the sports centre.

He said the hockey pitch as it exist now, was not the very one named after Theodosia Okoh as the complex has been reconstructed and elevated to international standard.

Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuije noted that though edifices such as the Accra High street, New Judicial building and part of the law school have been named after the late President, renaming other monuments after him will emphasize the love that Ghanaians had for the ex leader and also make future generations learn from the good attributes of the great leader who served his country selflessly.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh